Attending: John M. Crisp, Homer Garza, Noe Guerra, Dolores Huerta, Mattie Marcum, William Mareth, Mary Peña, Jim Pierce (Chair), Lisa Welch.

Not Attending: Mike Gadell, Vickie Natale.

Mid-Point Progress Report: Chair Jim Pierce said that the committee needs to send a mid-point progress report soon to SACS that describes what has been done, how our activities are organized, and what needs to be done. He said that he would produce a draft for the committee's March 24 meeting.

Self-Study Secretary: Pierce reported that he and John M. Crisp had agreed that at this point the self-study project did not need a secretary, and that one won't be hired until mid-fall.

Open Forums: Pierce reported that we will hold open forums on the first six sections of the Self-Study Report draft in April, according to the following schedule: Thursday, April 8: Institutional Advancement and Financial Resources; Thursday, April 22: Student Development Services and Special Educational Activities; Thursday, April 29: Physical Resources and Institutional Purpose. All meetings are scheduled for L-528; the first committee on each day will begin at 3:30 and the second at 4:15. The principal committees should have revised their drafts, incorporating into them at least the suggestions made by the Steering Committee subcommittees. The drafts should be available to be posted on the web at least a week before the scheduled meeting. Copies of the drafts will be available to the campus through: (1) the web (2) the principal committee chair (3) at the Circulation Desk in the libraries on both campuses and (4) in the Student Government Association office. Pierce said that he would meet with the principal committee chairs to work out the details before March 24. Notice of the forums and schedules will be publicized in the next SACS newsletter, in "This Week on Campus," and in The Foghorn. Pierce said that he would ask V.P.I. Armenta whether drafts should be sent to board members, as well. Pierce suggested that for each forum the principal committee chair should provide a brief (10-15 minutes) introduction or overview, which should include a comparison to conditions described in the Report written ten years ago, and a short summary of the committee's conclusions, and then open the forum up for questions and input. He said that the committees need not discuss each "must" statement.

Educational Support Services and Faculty Drafts: Educational Support Services liaison Noe Guerra reported that Juan Flores is working on the draft from that committee and that David Martin is assisting, as well. Pierce reported that he and Crisp had met with Manuel Flores and others from the Faculty committee and that Pierce expects a revision from the committee by mid-April and further revisions, after input from the Steering Committee, by May 20.

Principles and Philosophy of Accreditation: Pierce reminded the Steering Committee that it will be writing the part of the Self-Study Report related to this section and he asked the committee members to review the parts of this section related to the committees for which they have served as liaisons, since they will be responsible for writing those sections during the summer.

Planning for the Visiting Committee: Pierce announced that Linda Eubank (English) will be involved in the planning for the SACS visit in March of 2000.

Report from Selma: Pierce gave a brief report on his recent visit as an observer on a SACS visiting team in Selma, Alabama. He said that the visiting team reacted most unfavorably in two situations: when conditions on campus were not thoroughly explained or when explanations were not candid enough. He said that the campus self-study team had produced 68 recommendations and that the visiting team had awarded 35 more recommendations and 11 suggestions.

Other Discussion: The Educational Program subcommittee will meet on Thursday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m.

Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Steering Committee will be held in VB-170 on Wednesday, March 24, 1999 at 1:30 p.m.

Minutes prepared by John M. Crisp.